Sanitary mixing valve

ABSTRACT

A sanitary mixing valve having two valve disks ( 1, 2 ) arranged in a cartridge casing ( 7 ), one of which is held in a rotationally fixed manner while the other can be moved by means of a driving element ( 4 ) provided on a spindle ( 3 ) is created, whereby the driving element ( 94 ) has at least one stop projection ( 5, 15 ) which, in cooperation with at least one stop ( 6, 26 ) on the cartridge casing ( 7 ), limits the rotational movement of the driving element ( 4 ), whereby the driving element ( 4 ) consists of a part ( 8 ), which is fixedly connected to the spindle ( 30 ) and has a gearing ( 9 ) in at least one portion of its outer circumference, and a coupling ( 10 ), which has on its inner circumferential surface a gearing ( 11 ) which, in the installed state, engages the gearing ( 9 ) of the fixedly connected part ( 8 ) of the driving element ( 4 ), whereby the minimum of one stop projections ( 5, 15 ) of the driving element ( 4 ) is provided on the coupling ( 10 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a sanitary mixing valve having two valve disksarranged in a cartridge casing, one of which is held in a rotationallyfixed manner while the other can be moved by a driving element providedon a spindle, said driving element consisting of a part, which isconnected fixedly to the spindle and has a gearing in at least a portionof its outer circumference, and a coupling, which has on its innercircumferential surface a gearing which, in the installed state, engageswith the gearing on the fixedly connected to the spindle part of thedriving element, the coupling having at least one stop projectionwhich[, in cooperation with at least one stop,] limits the rotationalmovement of the driving element in cooperation with at least one stop.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With such known mixing valves, such as disclosed in European PatentApplication 745,798, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,467,799, 5,826,615 and 5,832,952,the position of the movable valve disk is altered in relation to therotationally fixed valve disk by the turning of the spindle by means ofthe driving element so that cold water, mixed water or hot water canflow through the valve, depending on the position of the two valve disksrelative to one another. In most cases, the movable valve disk can alsobe brought into a position opposite the fixed valve disk by means of thedriving element, causing the valve to be shut off. To maintain therotational movement of the movable valve disk in the range required foroperation of the mixing valve, the driving element has at least one stopprojection which, in cooperation with at least one stop on the cartridgecasing, limits the rotational movement of the driving element and thusof the movable valve disk. This stop may be equivalent to a temperaturelimit if it causes mixed water to flow even in the hottest setting,i.e., the cold water opening in the fixed valve disk is not entirelyclosed. In the case of a fixed disk, however, the temperature of themixed water coming out of the faucet in the position described last isobtained from the starting temperatures of the hot and cold water and[from] the pressure of the incoming hot and cold water. Due to the factthat the driving element consists of a part, which is fixedly connectedto the spindle and having a gearing in at least one area of its outercircumference, and a coupling, which has on its inner circumferentialsurface a gearing which in the installed state engages the gearing ofthe fixed part of the driving element, the stop projection on thedriving element can be offset by offsetting the coupling with respect tothe fixedly connected part of the driving element according to thegearings, and thus the range of rotation of the driving element and themovable valve disk, however, the maximum temperature of the water comingout of the faucet is also changed. According to the pitch of thegearing, this yields a minimal angle of the offset for the stop and theadjustability of the maximum temperature in certain stages. For reasonsinvolving the manufacturing costs and the required robustness of thedriving element parts, there is a limit to how thin the teeth may be andthus also to how small the parts may be, and the adjustable gradationsin the maximum temperature are not satisfactory.

The object of the present invention is to design a sanitary mixing valveof the type defined in the preamble so that a finer precision inadjustability of the maximum temperature is made possible withoutgreatly increasing manufacturing costs or having a negative effect onthe robustness of the driving element parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This object is achieved according to this invention by the fact that atleast one first stop projection extends beyond a portion of the heightof the coupling, and at least one second stop projection whose stopsurface is offset relative to the stop surface of the first stopprojecting, extends over-another portion of the height, and the couplingcan be placed on the fixedly connected part of the driving element intwo different directions, and the first and second stop projectionscooperate alternatively with the stop provided in the cartridge casing.

The offset of the stop surfaces permits intermediate steps between thegradations resulting from the pitch when the coupling is placed on thefixedly connected part of the driving element in the opposite direction.

In the installed state, the fixedly connected part of the drivingelement together with its area having the gearing preferably projectsout of the cartridge casing through a central opening in the cartridgecover, and the coupling is placed on the fixed part from the outside,engaging with the minimum of one stop projection in the orifice in whichthe sixth stop with the cartridge casing extends radially. The couplingcan thus be removed from the fixed part of the driving element, rotatedand reattached without having to open the cartridge.

The pitch of the gearing on the outer circumference of the fixedlyconnected part of the driving element and on the inner circumferentialsurface of the coupling is preferably 10°. With the usual dimensions andmaterials used for cartridges of mixing valves, this 10° pitch of thegearing yields an acceptable gradation for adjusting the maximumtemperature without any risk of the material of the driving elementbreaking off in the area of the gearing.

The offset preferably amounts to half the pitch of the gearing on theouter circumference of the fixed part of the driving element and on theinner circumferential surface of the coupling, so that due to thisoffset, intermediate steps are possible between the steps that arepossible due to the gearing, these intermediate steps being locatedexactly in the middle between two steps according to the gearing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a cartridge having a driving element ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cartridge of the invention with the coupling removed.

FIG. 3 shows the cartridge of FIG. 2 with the coupling installed.

FIG. 4 shows the temperature curve of water issuing from the valve withinlet cold water at 4° C. and inlet hot water at 82° C.

FIG. 5 shows the temperature curve of water issuing from the valve withinlet cold water at 10° C. and inlet hot water at 60° C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows the cartridge casing bottom 16 which comes to lie on thebottom of the fitting casing with the insertion of the gaskets 17 inassembly. A fixed valve disk 1 sits in or on the cartridge casing bottom16 with a movable valve disk 2 arranged on it, forming a seal. A drivingelement 4 fixedly arranged on a spindle 3 which also passes throughdriving element 4 engages in the movable valve disk 2. The drivingelement 4 comprises a fixed part 8 which has gearing 9 in an area of itsouter circumference. This area having the gearing 9 extends through theopening 12 in the cartridge casing 7 in the installed state of thevalve. Two stops 6, 26 project radially inward in the opening 12. Acoupling 10 is also part of the driving element 4, having gearing 11 onits inside surface, meshing with the gearing 9 of the fixed part 8 ofthe driving element 4 in the installed state. On its outercircumference, the coupling 10 has a stop projection 5 over a portion ofits height, working together with the stop 6 on the cartridge casing 7.This stop 6 limits the rotation of the spindle 3 in the installed stateof the sanitary mixing and cutoff valve. The pitch of gearing 9, 11 maybe 10°, for example, so that the stop projection 5 can be offset by anangle of 10° by pulling the coupling 10 off the fixed part 8, rotatingit and replacing it again in order to adjust the hot water stop. It isvery difficult to manufacture a pitch of less than 10° for the gearing9, 11, so that only a rough adjustment of the stop projection 5 for thegearing is possible. On its end facing away from the cartridge casing 7,the coupling 10 also has a second stop projection 15 over a portion ofits height, cooperating with stop 6 on cartridge casing 7 when coupling10 is rotated, i.e., placed on the fixed part 8 of the driving element 4in the other direction. The active stop surfaces 13 and 14 of stopprojections 5 and 15 are offset by 5° in the present example, so that anadjustment of the hot water stop in 5° increments is possible for thechoice of the positions of the gearing 9 and 11 relative to one anotherand the choice of the direction in which the coupling 10 is placed onthe fixed part 8.

FIG. 2 shows the cartridge in the installed state. The fixed part 8 ofthe driving element 4 having gearing 9 on its outer surface projects outof the cartridge casing 7 through the central opening 12. Coupling 10 isshown in its state after being removed. On its inside surface, it has agearing 11 which is provided for meshing with the gearing 9 on the fixedpart 8 of the driving element 4. Coupling 10 has a total of four stopprojections 5, 15, two of which, 15, are arranged in diametricopposition in the upper half of coupling 10 and two of which, 5, arearranged in diametric opposition in the lower half of coupling 10.Coupling 10 can then be placed on the fixed part 8 of the drivingelement 4 by meshing the gearing 11 with gearing 9, so that the stopsurface 14 is opposite the lateral stop surface of the stop 6 incartridge casing 7. The coupling 10 and thus the entire driving element4 as well as the movable valve disk 2 can thus be rotated to the extentallowed by the stop projection 5 between the two stops 6, 26 arrangeddiametrically opposite one another so they project into the opening 12.However, the coupling 10 may also be rotated so that instead of stopprojection 5, stop projection 15 with its stop surface 13 projects intothe area between the stops 6, 26 and limits rotation of the coupling bycontact of stop surface 13 with stop 6. Stop surfaces 13 and 14 areoffset relative to one another, so that rotating the coupling 10 causesthe angle of rotation to be shifted by the angle β. If gearings 9 and 11have a pitch of 10°, for example, and the offset β amounts to 5°, thenthe range of rotation can be shifted in 5° increments, depending on themeshing of gearing 9 with gearing 11 and the direction in which thecoupling is placed on the fixed part 8 of driving element 4.

FIG. 3 shows the cartridge in the completely installed state, i.e.,coupling 10 has been placed on fixed part 8 of driving element 4. At itsstop surface 14, stop projection 5 is in contact with stop 6 of thecartridge casing 7. In the position illustrated here, the hottestpossible mixed water flows through the mixing valve. If the temperatureof this hottest possible mixed water is too high or too low, this can becorrected by removing the coupling 10 from the fixed part 8 of thedriving element 4 and replacing it after an offset. Optionally anintermediate step may also be set by rotation of the coupling.

FIG. 4 shows the temperature curve of a mixing valve, where thetemperature of the cold water supplied is 4° C. and the temperature ofthe hot water supplied is 82° C. As this shows, the mixing valve allowsrotation of the movable valve disk by 124°. Between 0° and 5°, the valveis completely closed, and the disk is rotated further so that first coldwater, then mixed water and finally hot water up to a temperature if 82°C. is obtained at an angle of 124°. In other words, in the case of themixing valve used for this study, the valve disk could be rotated tosuch an extent that the cold water opening is in fact closed at the topof the range of hot water removal. To now establish an upper limit forthe temperature of the mixed water coming out of the mixing valve if themixing valve is equipped with the driving element according to thisinvention, coupling 10 can be offset with respect to the fixed part 8 ofthe driving element 4, so that stop projections 5, 15 on the drivingelement cooperate with stops 6, 26 on the housing 7, so that the angleof rotation and thus the maximum temperature are limited.

The desired maximum temperature will be between 40° C. and 60° C.,depending on where the mixing valve is used. As FIG. 4 shows, rotationof the movable valve disk by 10° in this range results in a temperatureincrease by 5° C. If the gearing of fixed part 8 of the driving element4 and coupling 10 has a pitch of 10° and if the offset between the twostop surfaces 13, 14 is 5°, then the maximum temperature of the mixingvalve can be adjusted in 2.5° C. increments by using such a mixingvalve. For example, if the maximum temperature is set at 50° C., therotation would have to be limited to 84° C. with the help of the stop.According to the curve given here, this corresponds to a temperature of51° C.

Finally, FIG. 5 shows the temperature curve of the mixed water obtainedfrom a mixing valve under different starting conditions, namely anincoming cold water temperature of 10° C. and an outgoing hot watertemperature of 60° C. It can be seen here that the mixing valve usedhere can be operated from the closed state to pure cold water and mixedwater to pure hot water if the temperature stop is on the outermost end.If the mixing valve is limited to a rotation of 84° C., as in thepreceding example, then the maximum hot water temperature would be 40°C., but this would be too cold for certain applications such as akitchen fitting. To set the desired 50° C. as the maximum temperature,rotation would have to be limited to 109°, given these startingconditions.

The two examples presented here show clearly that the mixing valveaccording to this invention offers a great deal of convenience by makingit easy to limit the maximum temperature of the mixed water obtainedfrom the faucet by using this valve and also to adjust it individuallyto given conditions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sanitary mixing valve having a first disk and asecond disk (1, 2) arranged in a cartridge casing (7), the first disk isrotationally fixed, the second disk can be rotated by means of a drivingelement (4) provided on a spindle (3), the driving element (4) comprisesa part (8), which is fixedly connected with the spindle (3) and has agearing (9) on at least one area of its outer circumference, and acoupling (10), which has on its inner circumferential surface a gearing(11) which, in the installed state, engages the gearing (9) of the part(8) of the driving element (4), the coupling (10) having at least onestop projection (5, 15) which limits the rotational movement of thedriving element (4) in cooperation with at least one stop (6, 26) on thecartridge casing (7), wherein, at least one first stop projection (5)extends over a portion of the height of the coupling (10), and at leastone second stop projection (15) extends over another portion of theheight of the coupling (10), a stop surface (13) of the stop projection(15) having an offset (β) relative to a stop surface (14) of the firststop projection (5); the coupling (10) is engageable with the part (8)of the driving element (4) in two different directions, and the firstand second stop projections (5, 15) alternatively cooperate with thestop (6) provided on the cartridge casing (7) in the two differentdirections.
 2. The valve according to claim 1, wherein, in the installedstate, the part (8) of the driving element (4) with the area having thegearing (9) projects out of the cartridge casing (7) through a centralopening (12) in the cartridge cover, the coupling (10) is placed on thepart (8) from the outside, and a minimum of one stop projection (5, 15)is engageable in the central opening into which the fixed stop (6, 26)extend radially with the cartridge casing (7).
 3. The valve according toclaim 1, wherein, the pitch of the gearing (9, 11) on the outercircumference of the part (8) of the driving element (4) and on theinner circumferential surface of the coupling (10) is 10°.
 4. The valveaccording to claim 1, wherein, the offset (β) amounts to half of thepitch of gearing (9) on the outer circumference of the part (8) of thedriving element (4) and the gearing (11) on the inner circumferentialsurface of the coupling (10).
 5. The valve according to claim 2,wherein, the pitch of the gearing (9, 11) on the outer circumference ofthe part (8) of the driving element (4) and on the inner circumferentialsurface of the coupling (10) is 10°.
 6. The valve according to claim 2,wherein, the offset (β) amounts to half of the pitch of gearing (9) onthe outer circumference of the part (8) of the driving element (4) andthe gearing (11) on the inner circumferential surface of the coupling(10).
 7. The valve according to claim 3, wherein, the offset (β) amountsto half of the pitch of gearing (9) on the outer circumference of thepart (8) of the driving element (4) and the gearing (11) on the innercircumferential surface of the coupling (10).
 8. The valve according toclaim 5, wherein, the offset (β) amounts to half of the pitch of gearing(9) on the outer circumference of the part (8) of the driving element(4) and the gearing (11) on the inner circumferential surface of thecoupling (10).